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Little public support for change in council voting

News Release

Sunday, 10 March, 2018

Little public support for change in council voting

In a blow to the Palaszczuk Government’s plans to dramatically change the current local government voting system by introducing measures such as compulsory preferential voting, the poll found that over seven in ten electors were satisfied with the current system, which gives them the option of voting for their most preferred candidates and not having to number every square.

The Colmar Brunton poll, commissioned by the Local Government Association of Queensland, also found that most Queenslanders rated local councils more trustworthy than either the federal or state governments.

The poll surveyed more than 1200 people across Queensland between 28 February and 5 March.

LGAQ President and Sunshine Coast Mayor Mark Jamieson, said the poll’s findings showed that there was no good reason for the Government to make changes to the system of electing local councils in Queensland.

“Seven out of 10 voters in Queensland do not want these changes because they are happy with the way the current system of optional preferential voting operates,” he said.

“Forcing people to number every square in council elections is a solution to a problem that does not exist.”

The poll found that while trust amongst Brisbane residents is high for both local council and state government, a higher proportion of Brisbane residents indicate trust for their local council.

Trust in state government is lower outside the southeast corner of the state than it is in Brisbane, while trust in the federal government is low across the board, according to the poll.

It also found there was strong support for campaign spending caps in local council elections, but a lack of support for public funding of election campaigns.